Tāniko (or taaniko) is a traditional weaving technique of the Māori of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

related to "twining". It may also refer to the resulting bands of weaving, or to the traditional designs. The tāniko technique does not require a loom, although one can be used. Traditionally free hanging warps were suspended between two weaving pegs and the process involved twining downward. The traditional weaving material is

muka Muka is prepared fibre of New Zealand flax ( mi, links=yes, harakeke). Prepared primarily by scraping, pounding and washing, it is a key material in Māori traditional textiles where it is usually used in tāniko or twined weaving. In pre-Europea ...

, fibre prepared from the

New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...

(''Phormium tenax'') by scraping, pounding and washing. The muka fibre was dyed using

natural dye Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi. Archae ...

s. There has been a resurgence of tāniko and other Māori cultural practices starting in the 1950s and as part of the broader Māori Renaissance. This has led to tāniko practitioners

Diggeress Te Kanawa Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa (9 March 1920 – 30 July 2009) was a New Zealand Māori tohunga raranga (master weaver) of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kinohaku descent. At the time of her death she was regarded as New Zealand's most renowned ...

and her mother Dame Rangimārie Hetet receiving honorary doctorates from the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

. The award-winning designer, Adrienne Whitewood ( Rongowhaakata), demonstrates a new wave of Māori designers connecting customary designs and techniques with modern designs. Her work Tāniko was the Supreme Award Winner of the Cult Couture Fashion Awards in 2012.

References

Bibliography

*"Te Whatu Taaniko: Taaniko Weaving", Sidney M. Mead, 1968, , * "Weaving a Kakahu",

, 1992, Bridget Williams Books Ltd, * "The Art of Maori Weaving: The Eternal Thread Te Aho Mutunga Kore", Miriama Evans and Ranui Ngarimu, 2005, Huia Publishers,

External links

Collection items featuring taaniko from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
online book by Judy Shorten
Harakeke weaving varieties
Māori culture Weaves Māori art {{Maori-stub